Are family films the answer to a declining overseas boxoffice?

Veteran studio distribution executives say a lot depends on how international moviegoers react in the summer to the first batch of one of the largest crops of animated family films to be released during a single year.

20th Century Fox's "Ice Age: The Meltdown," and the Walt Disney Co.'s "The Wild" started the ball rolling this month, and five more CGI films -- DreamWorks' "Over the Hedge," Pixar-Disney's "Cars," Sony Pictures Animation/Amblin Entertainment's "Monster House," Warner Bros. Pictures' "The Ant Bully" and Fox's "Garfield's A Tale of Two Kitties"-- will reach offshore multiplexes during the feverish May-September span, competing with megabudget blockbuster hopefuls also seeking a piece of the estimated 40% of the peak-summer foreign boxoffice.

"One of the biggest challenges this summer will be to distinguish yourself among the many family films," said Veronika Kwan-Rubinek, president of Warner Bros. Pictures International Distribution.

The summer's soccer World Cup, the movie industry's quadrennial scheduling nemesis, provoked intricate jockeying for suitable playing time for key product, resulting in a May grouping of tentpole entries. With the tournament taking place June 9-July 9 in Germany, the major studios are making sure that selected event films do not compete with primetime televised soccer games, especially in Europe. Global time differences had studio schedulers working overtime to come up with tailor-made, noncompeting placements during and after the soccer contests.

"Cars" is staying away from the World Cup, presuming that the stock-car racing elements of the film would have wide appeal beyond the kiddie trade. Except for a June 14 date in France, "Cars" will drive worldwide starting in July and ending with a September rollout in Germany. Buena Vista International, Disney's overseas distribution arm, has picked June 14 in France to meet the country's six-month law relating to the DVD release because "we wanted to have the DVD ready for Christmas," said Anthony Marcoly, BVI's executive vp distribution and acquisition.

"Over the Hedge," based on the popular comic strip, will open in Southeast Asia day-and-date with North America on May 19 but "mostly will follow a holiday release pattern," said Andrew Cripps, president of UIP, the overseas distribution arm of Paramount, Universal and DreamWorks. The story of a raccoon and a turtle's battle against encroaching suburbia is set to open June 16 in Spain, June 22 in Australia, June 30 in the U.K., July 5 in France, and July 6 in Germany.

"People don't stop going to the movies (during the World Cup) if you have the right product," Cripps said. "It's only a big deal when your country is playing. There'll be enough big properties around -- action pictures, family pictures, teen pictures and comedies -- that will cater to all audiences."

The partly computer-animated "Garfield's A Tale of Two Kitties," a sequel to the $124 million-scoring "Garfield," bows day-and-date June 23 in Brazil and will make the global rounds from July to September, mainly at school holiday periods.

The animated "Monster House," a Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis project, will hit the overseas market via Sony, starting in the U.K., France and Mexico in August and continuing through September and October.

Warners will drive John A. Davis' "The Ant Bully" in the international market starting in early August and will keep an eye on holiday dates through September.

Come fall, another array of CGI family cartoons will reach the overseas market: "Barnyard" (UIP/Paramount), "Open Season" (Sony), "Flushed Away" (UIP/DreamWorks) and "Happy Feet" (Warners). Currently making the rounds is the Weinstein Co.'s "Hoodwinked."

During the May scramble, high-profile event films will hit the market week after week just before the World Cup. The period during the tournament will be accompanied by careful counterprogramming, and the studios will finish the summer surge from mid-July to September with another jam-packed supply of costly would-be blockbusters.

"It's going to be a battle royal as usual," said David Kornblum, vp sales and distribution at BVI. "It won't be summer without this competition."

The tentpole barrage kicks off May 5 with the worldwide day-and-date opening (except Japan and India) of UIP/Paramount's Tom Cruise starrer "Mission: Impossible 3."

Sony unleashes its big gun, the controversial and much-awaited "The Da Vinci Code," on May 19. Mark Zucker, Sony Pictures Releasing International's senior executive vp, said the company is seeking to capture the whole world on a single weekend with more than 10,000 screens in about 100 territories. The release of the Ron Howard-directed religious mystery follows its May 17 screening Out of Competition at the Festival de Cannes.

Fox's "X-Men: The Last Stand" represents the last global saturation booking of the month, with the Brett Ratner-directed comic book adaptation day-dating everywhere (except Japan) on May 26.

Warners' "Poseidon" has been dated "as the last major release to open over a long weekend before the World Cup," Kwan-Rubinek said, noting that it will go out in May mostly in Asia and a few territories in Europe. The remake of 1972's "The Poseidon Adventure" has been set for June only in Italy and the U.K, hitting Germany in July after the World Cup.

"We have done this because we found that during Euro 2004 (the European soccer championship) those films dated last before the event showed on average a better playability," Kwan-Rubinek said. "In France, we are going on June 14 to play into La Fete du Cinema (France's annual moviegoing promotion), which we expect will offset any potential impact from the soccer games."

Fox's remake of the 1976 horror classic "The Omen" also got under the wire before the June 9 soccer start. Paul Hanneman, co-president of 20th Century Fox International, said the John Moore-directed thriller would open day-and-date in every country worldwide (except Japan) on June 6, a Tuesday. That's usually an off day for a major film launch, but its marketers also are seizing on the 6-6-06 date.

BVI's "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," the second in Disney's franchise, will raise its flag as the World Cup comes to a close, setting sail day-and-date with North America on July 7 for a cruise that will take it around the world in three weeks.

From late June to September, another barrage of biggies will reach the overseas market, including Warners' "Superman Returns," UIP/Universal's "Miami Vice" and "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift."

Other titles in play either as World Cup counterprogramming or as wide-appeal offerings are Warners' "The Lake House" and M. Night Shyamalan's thriller "Lady in the Water."

Sony will roll out the youth-oriented "Benchwarmers," the horror-thriller "Silent Hill," the Robin Williams family comedy "RV," the Will Ferrell action comedy "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," Adam Sandler's "Click" and the Tim Allen comedy-fantasy "Zoom."

A number of other Fox entries will make appearances here and there on the summer calendar, including the crime drama "The Sentinel," the comedy "My Super Ex-Girlfriend," the comedy-romance "Just My Luck," the comedy-fantasy "Aquamarine" and the comedy-drama "Thank You for Smoking."

UIP's slate includes Paramount's Jack Black comedy "Nacho Libre" and Universal's Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy "The Break-Up."